Kittens, Puppies, and Capons: A Motley Crew of Farm Animals

My youngest sister Linda loved animals most of all of us. Not surprisingly, today she works at Lititz Veterinary Clinic.

My youngest sister Linda loved animals most of all of us. Not surprisingly, today she works at Lititz Veterinary Clinic.

Shirley, Vicky, Doris, Sue and Nellie's puppies. Note the riding lawnmover we used for transportation.

My brother Henry became the family photographer after he traded in the S & H Green Stamps for a 35 mm camera. Here are a few he took in the years 1965-70. We moved from black and white to color!

Sister Doris with our white German Shepherd Mike

He even took pictures of our 4-H Capons on their way to their new homes.

Capons were not pets! They were 4-H projects.

My New Beginning today will be to turn in a completely finished and proofread manuscript!

What is yours? Log in here. We passed the 300 entry mark over the weekend.

59 Days Until Blush Launches

 

Shirley Showalter

6 Comments

  1. Marian Beaman on July 15, 2013 at 3:29 pm

    Mother, a farm girl, couldn’t abide pets in the house, so we didn’t have any. The dogs and lamb at Grandma’s were our menagerie growing up. In my mid-teens, I was hired out to a farm wife expecting twins. I did chores inside and outside of the house: cleaning, laundry, gathering eggs, and feeding chickens and steers. Wish I had a camera then!

    • shirleyhs on July 15, 2013 at 3:33 pm

      We had the same line dividing people and animals. Barn and yard for animals. House for people.

      Yes, that’s an interesting thought. What else would you take pictures of if you could be transported back to your childhood and adolescence, camera in hand?

      Shirley

  2. Tina Fariss Barbour on July 15, 2013 at 11:47 pm

    Same here growing up–animals outside, people inside. I didn’t discover my connection to animals until I was an adult and became close to first a dog, and then a cat. I don’t think I could live on a working farm again. I would have such a hard time differentiating between pets/family members and farm animals.

    Congrats on turning in the finished manuscript! That publication date is creeping closer!

    • shirleyhs on July 16, 2013 at 7:32 am

      Tina, isn’t it interesting that we could be around animals all the time and enjoy them but not really love them deeply, personally? You couldn’t afford to get too close to a particular animal. One way or the other you would lose it. And there would always be another one. Hard for city folk to understand, but very common on farms.

      Yes, we broke into the 50’s this week. Less than two months away now and so much to do!

  3. Richard Gilbert on July 16, 2013 at 12:38 am

    I love those classic photos! So much life and love and America captured.

    Growing up in Florida we had fish and birds and a dog and an iguana we caught. I often was starting chicks and ducklings.

    • shirleyhs on July 16, 2013 at 7:36 am

      Your comment about America caught my attention, Richard. What seems funny to me, given my church’s attempts to keep us away from the “world,” was how very American were were and are.

      No wonder I chose American Studies as my graduate school discipline.

      Starting chicks and ducklings takes a lot of patience, I think. (We always got our little capons from a hatchery.) By the way, I think you will like my story about the 4-H capon round up. 🙂

Leave a Reply Cancel Reply